Welcome to the website of the Pacific Islands Study Circle

Member of the Association of British Philatelic Societies
American Philatelic Society Affiliate #226

The Study Circle was founded in Great Britain in 1962 for collectors of the stamps and postal history of the smaller Pacific islands and the Indian Ocean islands of Christmas and Cocos (Keeling). The list of territories covered include:

The PISC currently has around 220 members located around the world.

This website was awarded a Vermeil at 16th NZ National Literature Exhibition, Christchurch, 2019

Members: Please renew your PISC membership for 2024 now!

Congratulations are in order to to David Alford and Paul Xavier who received recognition for their exhibits in the Traditional Philately class and also to Bryan Jones and the PISC for recognoition in the Philatelic Literature class at the London 2022 International Stamp Exhibition:

David Alford - Gold
'The Stamps of the Fiji Islands from 1870 to the sale of unwanted Queen Victoria Issues in 1906'

Paul Xavier - Large Silver
'Territory of Papua & New Guinea. 1964 Health Services Commemorative Issue.'

Bryan Jones - Large Vermeil
'Fiji-The Postage Stamp Issues Of The King George VI Period'

PISC - Large Vermeil
'Fiji Postal History-Postage Meters Registration Labels And Machine Cancellations' by John Dear

PISC - Vermeil
'The Picture Postcards Of Fiji, 3rd Edition' by John Dear

PISC - Vermeil
The PISC website

PISC - Large Silver
'Pacific' Volume 57 ed. Bryan Jones

Fiji Postage Stamps Issues of the King George VI Period

By R.F. Duberal F.A.P. and Bryan Jones (2018)

Large Vermeil medal at Spring Stampex, London, 2019

Large Vermeil medal at 16th NZ National Literature Exhibition, Christchurch, 2019

A new publication from The Pacific Islands Study Circle which covers in considerable detail the various stamp issues from Fiji during the reign of King George VI, including the pictorial definitives, commemorative issues, postage dues, specimens, booklets, “Cinderella” items and Presentation folders.

Separate chapters are included on the Fiji KGVI material held in the Royal collection, including illustrations of some of the key items, and also the equivalent material held in the British Library collection. Much of this material will not previously have been seen by collectors. These chapters provide a written record of the collections.

A series of explanatory Appendices is included with the intention of providing further details for the serious collector. These Appendices include detailed plating studies for both the ½d and 1½d values, details of “Cinderella” items produced during this period such as the Fiji Bomber Fund and Gifts to Britain labels, Savings Bank stamps, and wartime “cardboard” currency used for the purchase of stamps. See the book description page for a review published in GEOSIX. Read more...

The Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands - a PISC Display at the Royal Philatelic Society London Nov 2018

By Members of the PISC (2018)

The PISC was very pleased to be invited to display at the Royal Philatelic Society London on 22 November 2018. This comprised a standing display of 52 x 12 sheet frames of classic material form the full range of territories covered by the PISC and included selected displays of gold medal winning collections of several overseas members in addition to material form UK members.

The displays comprised: Norfolk Island, 1939–1947 (Chris Clifford); Tahiti–French Oceania (Kay Gaetjens); The Samoa Express Post Office (Jan Berg); The First Issue of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, 1910-11 (Simon Heap); The King George VI definitives of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands - Simon Heap); The Military Franchise of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides (Jim Crompton); Cook Islands: Selected Items from a Traditional Collection (Hans Van Dooremalen); German Postal Interests in Samoa (Jan Berg); Fiji: The KGVI Definitive Series (Bryan Jones); Norfolk Island (David Murray Brown); Cook Islands Postcards (Hans Van Dooremalen); The Fiji Bomber Fund – A World War 2 “Gratitude” Label (Bryan Jones); Clipperton Island (Laurence Kimpton); Kiribati: The Islands Maps, 1981–1987 (Keith Johnson); Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1971 Scenic Definitive and Overprints (Hugh Bennet); Civil Censorship in Fiji during World War 2 (Bryan Jones); British Solomon Islands Large Canoes (Simon Greenwood); Coastwatchers of the British Solomon Islands during World War 2 - Robin Sherman); Pitcairn Islands Postal History (David Murray Brown) and Recent Issues of Kiribati (Hugh Bennet).

This was one of the last such events to take place at the current 'home' of the RPSL, at 41 Devonshire Place, before relocation to larger premises in 2019. The descriptive booklet of the display is available below:

PISC at the RPSL display booklet 2018.pdf (2.6 MiB)

Fiji The Stamps and Postal History of the Islands

Fiji The Stamps and Postal History of the Islands - display booklet
Royal Philatelic Society London 12 January 2017

By John Ray and David Alford (2017)

The "Royal" has a tradition of inviting members to provide the display at its fortnightly meetings. These can either be 12 frames or 52-frames; in either case a descriptive handout is produced. Substantial displays of Fiji have not featured often in the Royal's near-150 year history; in 1986 some of HM the Queen's collection of Fiji was shown, in 1996 Tony Eastgate presented 12-frames of postal history and in 2012 another selection of HM the Queen's collection was shown. On 12th January 2017 David Alford and John Ray jointly gave a 52-frame display of Fiji and the descriptive booklet is available below:

Fiji RPSL display booklet 2017.pdf (2.6 MiB)

Postal History - Postage Meters, Registration Labels, Machine Cancellations

By John Dear (2015)

Large Vermeil medal at London 2022, 2022

Vermeil medal at APBS York, 2016

This publication combines the earlier monographs on these three subjects (originally published in 1979; 1980 and 1981), effectively three publications in one high quality up-to-date, profusely illustrated reference work, the result of much dedicated work by John Dear, who is to be congratulated on this formidable addition to the list of PISC publications.

The first section on Postage Meters in its own right occupies 120 pages. It is sub-divided into sections for each manufacturer, with each listed in ascending number order, fully illustrated in colour (with very few numbers unable to be located for illustration). Dates of use, with alternative slogans listed and illustrated, make this an ideal reference and the inclusion of a section containing photographs of the various machine types, together with a complete index of meter users adds to the appeal.

The second section dealing exclusively with Registration labels (not including registration handstamps) runs to 37 pages, with 10 different types of label identified and illustrated. Those offices using each type of label are listed with recorded dates of use, accompanied by a selection of full colour illustrations of some of the more exceptional items.

The final section dealing with Machine Cancellations runs to 61 pages, using the original 1981 study as its base with the slogan element, and the accompanying datestamps are listed and illustrated separately. Dates of use for each slogan, and each office using that slogan, have been updated to the current date, with a selection of typical covers being included. This comprehensive listing is completed with an index of individual slogans encountered. Read more...

The Picture Postcards of Fiji Third edition

By John Dear (2015)

Vermeil medal at London 2022 (3rd ed.)

Vermeil medal at APBS York, 2016 (3rd ed.)

Large Vermeil medal at Autumn Stampex, London 2012 (2nd ed.)

This latest edition (third) of The Picture Postcards of Fiji, by John Dear is now in stock, a golden opportunity for those who have yet to be tempted to add this superb reference work to their libraries. Totalling 194 x A4 size pages, and fully illustrated throughout in colour, this publication groups postcards according to a range of different publishers, starting with local (Fiji) publishers prior to 1990, and progressing through Australian; European and American publishers with additional sections on Souvenir Letter Cards; Booklets and QSL cards. The inclusion of tables of both surface and air mail rates for postcards is a welcome addition. The publication contains over 400 individual illustrations (reduced size in natural colours) of the picture side of the various types, not including illustrations of the reverse side of all earlier types. Where specific series of cards were produced lists of the individual cards in each series are included. This is a handsome publication and it is unlikely that it will ever be superseded, congratulations to John for his diligence and efforts in completing a worthwhile addition to any library. Read more...